Hanoi (VNA) - The Central Higlands province of Dak Lak will introduce 15 key projects that require investmentfrom domestic and foreign investors at a conference to be held in Buon Me Thuot city on March 11.

These projects, expectedto cost some 22.7 trillion VND (nearly 1 billion USD), will covera wide range of sectors, including hi-tech agricutlure, industry,construction and tourism, baodautu.vn quoted the provincialInvestment Promotion Centre as saying.

Statistics from theForeign Investment Agency revealed that the province attracted only 13foreign-invested projects, worth 136 million USD, as of February 20, ranking 51thamong 63 localities nationwide in term of investment attraction.

To attract moreinvestment, local authorities are offering a number of favourable policies andstreamlining administrative procedures to provide optimum conditions forinvestors, according to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment.

The province has alwaysconsidered administrative reform an important factor in attracting investors,the department said.

The province isdeversifying investment promotion efforts, including regular meetings andinteractions with large domestic and international companies to introduce localpotential and investment climate.

Toppriority is also being givento improving training for human resources, ensuring public orderand creating conditions in which businesses feel secure aboutinvesting, it said.

Futher, Dak Lak isimproving coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevantagencies, both at home and abroad, so that the province can accquireup-to-date information on its partners, ultimately optimising the promotion ofinvestments, the department noted.

The 13,125sq.km.province has an airport and a fairly developed road network, with manyimportant national highways passing through it.

It has more than600,000ha of forests with timber reserves of more than 50 million cu.m.

With nearly 540,000ha ofagricultural land, the province grows high-value commercial crops, such ascoffee, rubber, and pepper, suitable for developing a processing industryaround them.

Livestock and poultryfarming have developed rapidly in the province, providing investors a goodfoundation for investing in industrial-scale animal breeding, feed productionand animal and poultry meat processing plants.

The province also haspotential in minerals such as feldspar, lead, sand and gravel for construction,meaning investors can develop processing industries.

It has an abundantworkforce with more than 900,000 workers, 400,000 of them trained, to basicallymeet investors’ human resources needs.-VNA